Yesterday my computer updated Windows 10. When it was finally done, it looked like a clean install of Windows had been done. Nothing was as I had set it up.
Folders and files on the desktop were gone.
Nothing in the taskbar.
None of my links pinned to Start.
Documents folder basically empty.
Pictures folder empty.
At first I freaked out thinking that for some reason Windows are done a clean install of Windows 10 and all of my files were gone. But after some searching, I found them in Users with my old account name. I also found a new User folder, which is the one the current update of Windows decided it should use.
This is a real problem since my programs no longer work correctly or are missing all the associated files. For example, I use Postbox for my email accounts (I have more than one -home and work, etc.). Postbox opened, but it opened as if it were brand new on the computer. All my email settings and ALL my email is missing. Firefox did the same thing. ALL of my settings are gone. I tried copying the info from the old user profile, but that doesn't work. It seems like there were some changes to the files in Firefox. Same is true for all the programs, although some don't work at all now.
How can I get Windows to start up with the old user profile?
I've spend all day yesterday after the update and all day today so far trying to make this new setup workable. It's worse than getting a new computer since at least then I have control over what happens. Whenever I get a new computer or new hard drive, I use Laplink to transfer files and programs (yes, it actually transfers programs). With a little tweaking everything works great. With this update of Windows, I'll be spending literally weeks getting everything to work as it did before.
Moved from: Windows / Windows 10 / Windows update, recovery, & backup
